Slayers Tribute
by Xelan
Summary: A tribute to someone who has since passed on. Good food, a warm fire, and a friend who listens.


Slayers Tribute  
  
An attempt at Slayers fanfic writing by Xelan   
(xelan@linainverse.com) - (http://xelan.virtualave.net)  
  
(Certain characters copyright H. Kanzaka / R. Araizumi, as all fans  
well know. Original characters belong to me. No copyright infringement  
intended. Remember: suing people is a bad thing.) ^_^  
  
(pardon the grammar mistakes)  
  
Author's Forward: I know for a fact that everyone was once young (so  
don't dispute it) and so, I would imagine others once had an older  
adult that they looked up to and loved very much. If you don't know  
what I mean, then think of the person as a mentor figure. Someone who  
was older and wiser and was always there to pick you up when you fell.  
As is nature's wont, they inevitably pass on and we are left to try  
and reach some sort of resolution. For me, the person who was close to  
me was well into the later part of her years when I met her as a young  
child. She was a fantastic cook and had a down home type of wisdom  
that I have yet to find anywhere else. She passed away on the 16th of  
December and though I loved her very much, I still found myself unable  
to really cry. I knew that I should do something to express my grief  
and so I started writing. I'm sure that there are those who may have  
found themselves in a similar situation once upon a time, and so this  
fic is not only meant to be a cathartic release for me, but to serve  
as a Tribute to other mentor figures that have since departed and to  
provide some sense of solace for we who are left behind.  
  
***************  
  
Lina was just about to turn in for the the night. The desert wind  
howled longingly over the dunes, and nearby their campfire crackled a  
little as the few pieces of sand-scoured wood they had found slowly  
turned to ash.  
  
It had been a tiring day. Her sleeping bag felt good and her eyelids  
felt incredibly heavy. She was certain that it would take something  
pretty big to get her out of bed before she felt fully rested,  
something along the lines of the Third Coming of Shabranigdo. So it  
was good for Lina that the return of the god of evil didn't happen  
every day. Well, it did happen to her fairly often, but even she  
couldn't be expected to trash evil gods every day. After all, there  
were what? only 4 or 5 shards left of old Shabby-chan?  
  
A small smirk formed on Lina's face as she envisioned all the  
wonderful food and beautiful jewels she would find in her dreams.  
Then, a horrible thought broke free from the back of her mind. Her  
eyes shot open and she flipped the flap of her sleeping bag off. She  
was only in her undergarments, but she didn't appear to care. She  
turned to Zelgadis. It was his turn to stand watch, so he was the only  
one awake.  
  
"Quick, Zel! What day is it?!?"  
  
"Uh... Saturday?"  
  
"NO! NO!! NO!!! I mean what is the DATE?"  
  
"Oh! So that's what you mean. Today is the 16th of December."  
  
"December 16... OH SHIT!!"  
  
Before Zelgadis knew what was happening, Lina zoomed past him. The  
wake of her passing was so fast, so irresistible, that Zel's entire  
body was lifted into the air and sent tumbling across the landscape.  
It is not relevant to the story to report that while Zel was not hurt  
(being a chimera is useful that way), his favorite coffee cup was sent  
flying and shattered upon a rock. (Since it wasn't relevant I probably  
didn't need to tell you but maybe my actions will be justified later.)  
  
When Zelgadis finally stopped, his head from spinning, he turned and  
noticed that Lina was already back into her sorcerer's costume and had  
a brown sack slung over her shoulder. She turned to look at him and  
hastily said,"I'll be back soon, Zel. Don't wake Gourry" And with  
that, she took to the sky with a quiet shout of "RAY WING." Before she  
zoomed off back in the direction of the last town they had visited,  
she took one brief look to where Zelgadis had fallen. Her gaze  
lingered on the smashed coffee cup, then she was gone.  
  
'Absolutely Incredible,' Zelgadis thought. 'I've never seen her fly  
that fast. Not when she was fighting Kopii Rezo, not when Shabranigdo,  
the Dark God of All, was after her. Whatever's going on has something  
to do with the day's date, but I can't figure out what it is.'  
  
With that, Zel sat back down near the fire and began rifling through  
the group food stores looking for an extra tin (yuck!) cup. After that  
strange upset, he felt certain he needed something to calm him. Coffee  
sounded particularly good. Too bad his favorite mug had been  
destroyed. He finally found one of the spare cups and poured himself a  
steaming cup of coffee. He sat there and waited. The coffee was  
feeling mildly reassuring in his hands, although for some reason he  
could not make himself take a drink. It was almost as if he were  
waiting for something or more precisely, someone.  
  
He didn't have long to wait. Thirty minutes later, a red blur streaked  
down toward the camp and coalesced into the rapidly moving form of  
Lina Inverse. The sack that she had brought with her was now full and  
it swayed on her back as she began to approach the fire. Before Zel  
knew what was going on, Lina had removed the pot of boiling coffee and  
had replaced it with a big metal kettle. She filled the it full of  
water and set to work. Into that kettle, Lina emptied bag after bag of  
dried tomatoes, various herbs, ground meat, and multiple bags of long,  
thin sticks of uncooked noodles. As the water came to a boil, she  
gingerly hefted a small sack out of the very bottom of the larger  
brown bag. With an amount of care Zelgadis had never seen in Lina, she  
began to carefully measure out cup after cup of a fine white  
substance. At first Zelgadis thought it was white sand, but there was  
no way anyone would pour sand into a pot of food. It could have been  
salt, but there was equally as little chance that anyone would survive  
eating so much of it. Still curious, Zelgadis just leaned against a  
handy boulder and began to sip his now very cool coffee.  
  
After Lina had spooned out four cups of the fine white powder, she sat  
back and inhaled the smell from the cook pot. With her eyes closed,  
she leaned forward and took a good long whiff from the boiling and  
bubbling kettle. A smile formed slowly on her lips as she settled back  
to sit cross legged in front of the pleasant fire, her gaze never left  
the bubbling kettle.  
  
From his place by the rock, Zelgadis couldn't help but notice that  
Lina looked so very serene tending the fire. With the flames  
reflecting in her eyes, Zelgadis' thoughts began to entertain more  
contemplative thoughts. 'If anyone saw her now, they would never be  
able to guess that "she" is the one everyone describes as "The Enemy  
of All Who Live".' He continued to gaze upon her for a very long time,  
completely enthralled by the contradictions that lay inherent in such  
a destructive yet gentle girl. One that is not yet 20 and still more a  
woman than any he has met or will probably ever meet. Well, strike  
that. There might be one that made his heart burn in a way that  
surpassed his love for Lina. His hand fell to his belt, to the water  
bottle that was never far from his side. The bobble on the bracelet  
that bore the same mark as the holy barrier that surrounds Sailoon.  
While his love for Lina made him follow Lina all around the world, it  
was his love for Amelia that brought him home.  
  
While his mind had been wondering, Lina had been vigilantly stirring  
the kettle. A light desert breeze wafted the scent of the bubbling  
brew to his nostrils and he took a deep heady whiff of it. It smelled  
spicy, zesty and there was something else he couldn't identify. He  
closed his eyes and was about to take another sniff when Lina spoke to  
him. "Zel... wouldn't you like some chiiri?" she in a soft voice.  
  
Zelgadis had never heard of chiiri before but now his curiosity was  
piqued. The smell was actually quite pleasant, and though his stomach  
was stone on the outside, the inside was still quite susceptible to  
hunger. He nodded and was able to manage a small smile as he walked  
closer to the fire and accepted the proffered bowl and fork.  
  
His first thought was 'why a fork to eat soup with?' but almost as if  
Lina could read his mind, she said, "Oh, Zel. If you're wondering why  
you're using a fork, it's because the recipe calls for long noodle. My  
ss-ss-s-ssister like to cut them up, but Mrs. Shurle didn't so I  
don't." And with that, Lina picked up her own bowl and began to eat  
some of her own chiiri.  
  
Seeing that whatever it was that Lina had been cooking was safe,  
Zelgadis tentatively lifted a few noodles from the bowl and took a  
small bite. He could taste a little hot pepper, a little onion, a lot  
of tomatoes but there was something else that made the soup taste  
different from anything he'd had before. He took a second, bigger bite  
and took his time chewing it. Yes, the noodles were still a little  
chewy, but that only seemed to make them more enjoyable and the liquid  
was warm and satisfying. He had gotten some cooked meat mixed in with  
his noodles this time and he thoughtfully chewed on it as he wondered  
what it was that made this soup better than anything he'd had in the  
dozens of exquisite kitchens he'd eaten in. After his third bite, he  
stopped caring and began to eat more ravenously. After all, it was  
good chiiri.  
  
"Stop!" said Lina. "It's alright to each chiiri fast, but I always eat  
the first bowl slowly. That way I can appreciate the flavor more  
fully. Would you mind doing the same?" The last part seemed almost an  
afterthought, but Zelgadis felt a bit embarrassed at his behavior. He  
was supposed to be the calm reserved one, and yet Lina was the one  
telling him to slow down. He sighed once and began to eat again...  
slowly. The chiiri was warm and filling. Its smell seemed to warm up  
the cold desert night and, even though he had completely finished his  
first bowl, he was hoping Lina wouldn't mind giving him seconds. After  
all, it was a big pot and it certainly wouldn't taste as good reheated  
as it did while it was still newly made.  
  
Lina began to refill her own bowl until she noticed his bowl was now  
also empty. She could almost feel the longing looks Zelgadis was  
giving the large remainder that still bubbled and brewed in the soup  
kettle. She decided to take pity on him and fill his bowl first.  
Besides, who else but Zelgadis was polite enough not to ask for more  
unless it was offered, especially since he must know that there is  
something special about this particular meal they had been sharing.  
  
Once both bowls were brimming with chunks of cooked meat, glossy  
noodles and vibrant red liquid, they both began to eat silently. After  
their seconds were over with, Lina stood up and dusted herself off.  
She took the kettle off the fire and covered it with a large tightly  
fitting lid, and then moved off to go to bed. Zelgadis considered  
asking her what was so important that Lina had rushed off for  
groceries in the middle of the night, but he was tired too and his  
full stomach made him drowsy. He wished it were a little later, then  
he could trade off his guard duty with Gourry. He sighed to himself  
once again and contemplated making another pot of coffee. But without  
his special mug, it wasn't the same.  
  
The skritch-scratch of footsteps on sand alerted Zelgadis to the  
presence of someone coming up behind him. He turned, his hand upon his  
sword hilt and the words to Flare Arrow were at the front of his mind.  
It was only Lina. His hand dropped from his sword and his mind went  
blank as Lina sat herself next to the large and handy rock that  
Zelgadis had been using less than three hours ago. She looked up at  
him and said, "I'm wide awake now, Zel. I'll take my watch now and you  
can get some sleep. I'll wake Gourry in a few hours. You can take your  
turn after that, I don't think I'll feel much like traveling once it's  
daylight." She pointed toward her messy sleeping bag and said, "Use my  
sleeping bag. I know you always say it doesn't matter, but a little  
comfort never hurt anyone." This time a thin smile formed on her lips  
and Zelgadis, for once in his life was utterly speechless. All he  
could manage was a nod and a hushed 'thank you'. As he was about to  
sleep a thought suddenly dawned on him. He had almost fulfilled his  
hours at watch and now Lina was going to finish out what little  
remained and stick him with another full duty at watch in a few hours.  
That wasn't fair! Zelgadis shifted around to face the fire and tell  
Lina exactly what he thought of her little scheme when heard a soft  
sniffling. It was coming from Lina.  
  
Zelgadis had never seen Lina cry like this. Certainly he'd seen her  
cry because of pain, but that was pain that would have forced other  
lesser people to go insane. This was a different kind of crying. Her  
breathing came in gasps of breath, the tears were slow but they still  
accumulated around her chin and fell while she was crying. Zelgadis  
could tell she'd been crying since he had first lain down to sleep.  
Her legs were drawn up toward her chest and her arms were wrapped  
around herself. They seemed to be squeezing so tight that Zelgadis  
wasn't sure that she could still feel them. Over her soft sobbing,  
Zelgadis could barely make out the words, "Why did you have to die?"  
and then Lina buried her head in her arms and started to cry even  
harder while still making barely any noise.  
  
At that moment, Zelgadis wasn't sure what to do. He knew he should try  
and help Lina, but being a friend also means knowing when a friend  
needs her space. As the dark and mysterious swordsman type, he knew  
better than almost anyone what that feeling felt like. He could let  
the matter of guard duty slide this once, but he'd have to remember to  
find out what was the deal with the so-called "chiiri" and why Lina  
had been crying.  
  
As Zelgadis sank slowly into his dreams, two thoughts occurred to him.  
'One, I'm very lucky to have met Lina, and two, whatever's the matter,  
I hope I can help her. After all, what are friends for?'  
  
***************************  
  
The End(?)  
  
Might be continued. Let me know if you think I should go on with this.  
I have some good ideas on how to give the next installment a happier  
ending.  
  
Author's Afterword: Yes, I know what you're saying. "Chiiri?" Well,  
the easiest way to explain that is that the person who passed away all  
those months ago was a fantastic cook (as I mentioned earlier) who  
could cook up the tastiest pot of chili I have yet to eat. I thought  
it would be easy to portray Lina in a story like this where she cooks  
a special meal once a year in tribute to the old lady who used to look  
after her when Luna was too busy. I was trying to evince in the reader  
the emotions I felt while writing and even if I haven't succeeded in  
the way I wished in terms of literary accomplishment, I do think I  
have created something of merit. Because of the wonders of the  
Internet, this fic will be around for a long time and will probably  
outlive its author. How's that for a suitable tribute? 


End file.
